New Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom decided early in his career that academic qualifications could make the difference between him getting jobs or not.

The ex-Barnsley and Leeds Utd manager was confirmed as Neil Lennon’s replacement at Easter Road on a three-and-a-half year deal this week.

Heckingbottom will be introduced to the media today before taking charge of Hibs for the first time at home to Hamilton tomorrow.

Experience as a player and FA coaching badges are par for the course for most hoping to make their way in management these days, but Heckingbottom went the extra mile in completing an MSc in Sports Coaching at Leeds Beckett University to give himself an edge.

“If I’m honest, the reason I did it to start with was purely to make my CV stand out and make myself more attractive to potential employers” he told Hibs TV.

“Myself and however many mates I played with had professional careers, so you’ve got that on your CV.

“You may do all your governing body awards and I wanted something different – I thought ‘if I add academic qualifications to that, brilliant.’

“But after studying for a couple of months, it added massive value to what I believed in and me coaching.

“It became the most valuable thing I did so as soon as finished my degree I enrolled straight away in my masters and carried on with that.